In Depth:  Andrew Collins

pastoral care

Andrew Collins

“Are you getting impatient with me?” The question was pointed. There was clearly something in my tone that betrayed my feelings!

Much as I tried to cover it with a veneer of kindness, my true attitude was escaping through the cracks. We’d walked this conversation many times. My friend was feeling a familiar sense of being overwhelmed at life, and was expressing worry, fear and catastrophe.

pastoral care

Andrew Collins

Pastoral ministry calls for resilience. As we carry one another’s burdens we carry the weight that Paul called “concern for the churches” (2 Corinthians 11v28). It’s a pressure that reveals our weakness. To bring the riches of the gospel in pastoral care is a privilege. But we carry that treasure in earthen vessels (2 Corinthians 4v7) that are breakable and perishable. Clay pots were utensils that lacked resilience.

Resilience as a concept has its origins in the world of engineering where it denoted a material that could recover from the strain or deformation caused by stress, hence the popular shorthand, “bouncing back”. But clay jars aren’t very malleable!

pastoral care

Andrew Collins

God is concerned about safety and protection. He is a refuge: a place of safety where we can be protected from danger, where we can hide and feel safe from harm. God is a shield of protection, a rock to hide behind, a wing to take shelter beneath, a father in whose arms we are safely embraced.

One day we will be safe forever in Christ from all threats and dangers. But, even now, God is concerned that His church is a place of care and growth, safe from harmful words and actions (think James, for example, and warnings against favouritism, gossip, in-fighting and anger).

pastoral care

Andrew Collins

I was feeling a little low, weary, and ‘out of sorts’: just not quite right. I wasn’t sick. Maybe just tired? But spiritually things were flat.

I was missing a sense of the Lord’s nearness. The vitality of my soul seemed to be waning. What was up? Did I just need a rest? Or was there something I needed to repent of?

pastoral care

Andrew Collins

‘I’ve got something deeper, something psychological going on…’ … ‘It’s my mental health that’s the issue…’.

Hearing such statements can lead us to think that a person’s struggle is beyond the reach of pastoral care. Discernment is needed, and referral to a qualified professional may be necessary, particularly with medical problems and struggles that involve risk. But are psychological problems outside the scope and understanding of Scripture itself?

pastoral care

Andrew Collins

After years of hiding from her problems, Kim finally pressed send on an email to her pastoral team.

Early traumas, committed by those she looked up to, long buried and suppressed, were now reappearing, leading to panic, depressed feelings and tormenting thoughts. She had to share this with someone. But who could she talk to? Who would listen? Who would understand? Would she just be blamed? Who could she trust? Reaching out for help felt like a huge risk.